Stages of lung cancer
Before doctors can determine what kind of lung cancer treatment will work best for you, they must consider a number of things. This includes the stage of your lung cancer.
Staging is a way of describing the size and any spread of cancer and is an important factor in deciding on the best treatment for you.
Staging for lung cancer is complicated, but your doctors will explain it as it applies to you.
The different stages of lung cancer
There are four stages of lung cancer. These are:
- Stage 1: The cancer is small and hasn’t spread (localised).
- Stage 2 or Stage 3: The cancer is larger and may have spread into surrounding tissues. There may be cancer cells in the lymph nodes (locally advanced).
- Stage 4: The cancer has spread to another part of the body (secondary or metastatic cancer).
Doctors classify four stages of lung cancer based on what’s known as the TNM system. TNM stands for Tumour, Node and Metastasis, and looks at the following:
- T (followed by a number 1 to 4): This refers to the size and position of the tumour.
- N (followed by a number 0 to 3) This refers to any spread of the cancer to lymph nodes, including which lymph nodes in the region are affected (if any).
- M (followed by 0, 1a, 1b or 1c): This indicates whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (known as secondary cancer or metastases).
Your doctor will be able to break down each of these stages into sub groups. For example, a TNM system description of T3 N1 M0 would be stage 3A, relating to increasing progression of the cancer. This classification gives a clearer picture and help decisions about the best way forward
How is the stage of lung cancer determined?
The stage of any lung cancer is found using different tests and scans which look at the size, position and the extent of any spread of your cancer.
Staging lung cancer is a complicated process and is difficult to explain. Please don’t worry if you don’t fully understand the information on this page. Your doctor or lung cancer nurse specialist can go over it with you, or you can call our nurse-led helpline on 0800 358 7200.